Wuxia: Start with max-level Nine Yang Divine Skill

Chapter 245 Wu Bo's whereabouts, is it related to the fate of the entire Prince's Mansion? (Two chapters combined)

With one hand holding Fan Taisui and the other carrying Xintong, Li Fu moved as if flying through the air, passing over the rooftops north of Luzhou City. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, he arrived at a secluded grove outside the city.

He put the two of them on the ground.

As soon as Fan Taisui's feet touched the ground, his legs went weak, and he staggered back a few steps before bumping his back against an old locust tree and barely managing to stand up.

He had just been carried away by Li Fu, the wind whistling in his ears and the rooftops and trees rushing past his feet, and he was already terrified out of his wits.

When he was put down, he looked up at Li Fu, then quickly lowered his head again, his lips trembling, unable to speak properly.

"You—you mustn't kill me—I have, lots and lots of money—I'll give you as much as you want—gold, silver, fine swords, stunning beauties—I can get them all for you—"

As he spoke, he shrank back, "My sister is the Princess Consort of Nankang, and my brother-in-law is the Prince of Nankang—if you kill me, they won't let you off the hook—"

Li Fu gave him a cold look: "Shut up."

Fan Taisui's voice stopped abruptly, like a duck being choked, not daring to say another word.

Li Fu stopped looking at him and turned his attention to Xin Tong, who had been thrown aside and was slowly sitting up against a tree.

Xintong's chest wound was still bleeding, his monk's robe was mostly stained red, and his face was as pale as paper. He looked at Li Fu with undisguised shock in his eyes, but his expression remained relatively calm.

After he settled down, he put his hands together and murmured a Buddhist chant.

"Amitabha Buddha—Your martial arts are divine, and this humble monk is utterly defeated."

However, there is one thing I don't understand: when has the Prince of Nankang's mansion ever offended you, benefactor?

"This humble monk has served in the Prince's residence for several years and has never heard of any dealings between the residence and you, benefactor."

Li Fu glanced at him: "You seem to recognize me."

A bitter smile appeared on Xintong's gaunt face.

"In the martial arts world, those of your age who possess such martial arts skills are extremely rare."

Furthermore, you can unleash condensed sword energy even without a sword in your hand. After much thought, this humble monk can only conceive of that person who has recently become famous throughout the land—”

He looked at Li Fu's hands hanging by his side, as if those hands possessed an astonishing and soul-stirring magic, and felt a slight, undisguised tremor.

"That celestial being, Li Fu, has arrived as Constable Li."

Rumors circulated that the technique of condensing sword energy, lost for nearly a century, had reappeared in the hands of your unparalleled swordsmanship. I was initially skeptical, but seeing it today, I know the rumors are true.

Li Fu raised an eyebrow: "Li Fu's swordsmanship is not bad; he can condense sword energy. What does that have to do with my knife skills and knife energy?"

The message from the channel: "What is the essential difference between a sword and a knife?"

They were just iron soldiers.

Because of their different shapes, the moves may naturally differ, but both sword energy and saber energy are based on the principle of condensing energy into a blade.

With your technique of condensing sword energy into form, what difficulty is there in disguising it as blade energy?

Although I did not personally witness your use of the legendary three-foot invisible sword energy, during our exchange, your sword energy appeared and disappeared intermittently, never condensing into a weapon for long. Yet, its sharpness and ferocity far surpassed that of ordinary sword energy.

Given your age, if I still can't guess, then I've wasted my eyes.

Li Fu nodded slightly: "You are a smart person."

He didn't care about his identity being exposed.

While I did use the Startling Dream Blade Technique earlier partly to avoid attracting attention, it doesn't matter now that it's been seen through.

As for being recognized during a confrontation, just because Xintong can see through it doesn't mean that others can.

But he also fought against three other experts, and people like Luo Kuohai didn't recognize him until they died, let alone those who didn't witness him fight.

Besides, he wasn't afraid of the Prince of Nankang's mansion. He didn't storm the mansion to arrest people earlier because he felt it was unnecessary and didn't want to make a big fuss.

At this moment, Fan Taisui suddenly raised his head, his face ashen, and stammered as he asked.

"You—you really are Li Fu? The Li Fu who, even if the number one expert of Tibet and the leader of the Quanzhen Sect joined forces, were no match for you? The Li Fu who is rumored to have mastered the art of condensing sword energy into weapons?"

His voice trembled more and more as he spoke, "Weren't you in Jiangnan? — What are you doing in Luzhou? My brother-in-law, the Prince of Nankang, has never offended you!"

He previously said that even the Six Doors' chief constables would have to be polite to his brother-in-law, but that was just him using the name of the Prince of Nankang's mansion to act arrogantly and presumptuously.

The Prince of Nankang is the Prince of Nankang, and he is himself; these are ultimately two different things.

And what about Li Fu?

Although his official position in the government was not as powerful as that of the God of Arrest who commanded the Six Doors, his reputation and prestige in the martial arts world were by no means inferior to that of the God of Arrest.

Defeating the Fairy of the Immortal Capital with a sword, defeating the combined forces of the number one master of Tibet and the leader of Quanzhen Sect, and saving the Northern Dao Sect from collapse—which of these wasn't a world-shaking event?

Not long ago, he also personally dealt with the notorious thief who had caused headaches for the entire martial arts world of Jiangnan.

Li Fuqi's martial arts skills were so high and his battle record so illustrious that even the abbot of Shaolin, the head of Wudang, and the abbot of Baima Temple, all martial arts masters, could not outshine him. He was undoubtedly a great figure in the martial arts world.

Li Fu ignored him, his gaze sharp as he swept over the two men's faces. "Did the Prince of Nankang's residence send people to secretly search for someone some time ago?"

Xintong paused slightly, then clasped his hands together: "May I ask who you are referring to, benefactor?"

"A man named Wu Zhi."

Li Fu paused for a moment, then continued, "This man is about fifty years old. He has a kind and honest face, a broad face, a short nose, and is taciturn. He looks very inconspicuous and can be easily found in a crowd."

Has the Prince of Nankang's residence ever sent anyone to search for such a person?

Xintong shook his head: "This humble monk does not know."

"To be honest, although I have taken refuge in the Prince of Nankang's mansion, I originally intended to work under the Prince's household."

However, seeing that this humble monk possessed high martial arts skills and a calm demeanor, the princess insisted on assigning him to protect this young master Fan. From then on, this humble monk spent all his time by his side, and had long since lost touch with the truly important affairs of the household.

He glanced at Fan Taisui, who was trembling with fear, and spoke in a slightly somber tone.

"Although I am called a guard, I am in reality nothing more than a servant who cleans up his messes."

Upon hearing this, Li Fu had already made up his mind. What the messenger said should be true. His responsibility to protect Fan Taisui seemed to be out of touch with the core affairs of the Prince's Palace.

He then asked, "In the Prince's residence, who is the Prince of Nankang's true confidant?"

"There are three people in the mansion who are the most trusted retainers of the Prince of Nankang."

One is Zhan Xiao, also known as "Nine Heavens Crane," whose martial arts are unparalleled and whose lightness skill is superb.

Xintong named three of the Prince of Nankang's most trusted retainers.

Li Fuyi memorized the three names, then raised an eyebrow: "Your Nankang Prince's Mansion is truly a place where hidden talents abound, with experts as numerous as clouds."

These three are all unparalleled masters renowned throughout the martial arts world.

Communication channel.

"Amitabha Buddha, although I am a layman, I still admire and respect the Great Zhao Emperor who pacified the world, established his rule over China, ended more than a hundred years of chaos, and brought peace back to the people."

As the saying goes, it's better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos.

For this alone, Emperor Taizu of Zhao truly deserves immeasurable merit and enjoys unparalleled prestige.

When a martial arts practitioner pledges allegiance to the imperial court, they are inevitably branded as a lackey or traitor. However, pledging allegiance to the descendants of the founding emperor is a different matter entirely.

Among the three princes of the same lineage as Emperor Taizu, Prince Leping was weak-willed, Prince Anding was fond of pleasure, and only Prince Nankang, although he was frail and sickly in his early years and looked like he would die young, later recovered his health by practicing martial arts and conditioning himself, and had no other obvious defects.

Therefore, many skilled martial artists in the land were willing to serve the Prince of Nankang's mansion, hoping to benefit from the legacy of the founding emperor.

Li Fu remained silent.

Emperor Taizu of Zhao, Song Yuanlang, was indeed a figure of great prestige.

Otherwise, when the current emperor suffered a crushing defeat against the Mongol Yuan dynasty, there wouldn't have been so many border generals secretly conspiring to reinstate a descendant of the Taizu lineage.

The legacy of the founding emperor still lingers today.

It seems they arrested the wrong person this time.

Xin Chang usually protected Fan Tai Sui outside the palace, so he had limited knowledge of the secrets of the Prince's Palace.

To find out whether the Prince of Nankang's mansion is really looking for Uncle Wu and why, we might have to start with those three trusted retainers.

As Li Fu pondered, his gaze swept over Fan Taisui.

He was found huddled by the tree roots, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his eyes darting around, and he seemed hesitant to meet Li Fu's gaze.

Li Fu's gaze sharpened slightly: "Do you know something?"

Upon being asked this question, Fan Taisui shuddered and quickly waved his hand.

"No!

I don't know anything!

I'm out eating, drinking, and having fun every day; how would I know anything about what's going on at the Prince's residence?

This behavior could be interpreted as fear of Li Fu, but he still found it suspicious.

Li Fu didn't ask any more questions. He simply stepped forward, looked down at Fan Taisui, and said in a flat tone, "Look me in the eyes."

Fan Taisui instinctively looked up, and froze the moment he met Guang and Li Fuyi's gaze.

Li Fu's eyes, as black as lacquer, now seemed like two bottomless pools, pulling his mind down inch by inch with an invisible suction force.

Fan Taisui tried to look away, but found he couldn't; his gaze seemed to be locked on by something.

His gaze quickly became unfocused, and the look of terror on his face slowly faded, replaced by a blankness, like a clay or wooden sculpture.

Xintong saw everything clearly from the side, and a chill suddenly rose in his heart.

He had traveled the martial arts world for many years and had seen many extraordinary skills, but he had never heard of any martial arts that could captivate people and leave them bewildered with just a glance.

He couldn't help but look away from Li Fu's face, not daring to look at him any longer. This "celestial being" had martial arts skills that far exceeded his understanding.

Li Fu looked at Fan Taisui's vacant eyes and slowly spoke.

"Tell me, what do you know about the search for someone by the Prince of Nankang's residence?"

"I saw—I saw my brother-in-law before—"

A faint struggle appeared on Fan Taisui's face, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were fighting against some invisible force.

Li Fu's gaze slightly hardened, indicating that this matter held immense weight in Fan Taisui's heart, concerning his very life and fortune, even provoking a hint of resistance from the Soul Transfer Technique.

However, Fan Taisui's martial arts skills were mediocre, and his mental fortitude was far from resilient. His struggle lasted only a breath before dissipating.

"Go on."

What do you know? Tell me everything.

Fan Taisui's voice became flat and hollow, as if he were dreaming.

"I don't know the specifics—I just happened to see my brother-in-law, the Prince of Nankang, standing in the flower hall in the inner courtyard of the Prince's mansion once before, with a very solemn expression."

He was instructing two trusted men to secretly search for someone's whereabouts—I found that a bit strange at the time.

My brother-in-law is a prince; if he needs to find someone, he can simply use the court and government officials. Why does he need to do this so secretly?

"Later I asked my sister."

She's always been incredibly kind to me; she gives me whatever I want and never refuses my requests. But the moment I asked her about this, her expression changed.

She sternly instructed me never to tell anyone what I had seen.

She said the person my brother-in-law found was related to the entire Nankang Prince's Mansion, and this matter absolutely could not be known to the government or the imperial court.

I was stunned and wanted to ask more questions, but my sister kept quiet and refused to reveal a single word.

She repeatedly told me that this matter must never be leaked.

Although I may act somewhat recklessly in my daily life, I am also able to distinguish between what is important and what is urgent.

I have everything I have now—food, clothing, and daily necessities—and I am all powerful and influential, all thanks to the influence of the Prince of Nankang's mansion.

If the Prince of Nankang's mansion falls, my sister and I will hardly be able to escape unscathed.

His voice surprisingly revealed a rare sincerity.

"Besides—my sister has doted on me since I was little, and my nephew, the young prince, is also close to me."

I don't want anything to happen to them, and I don't want them to worry.

So I didn't dare ask any more questions, nor did I dare tell anyone.

"When you asked whether the Prince of Nankang's residence was looking for someone, I suddenly remembered this matter."

But I can't talk about this.

I thought that even if you captured me, you would be wary of the power of the Prince of Nankang's mansion and wouldn't dare to really kill me.

But if the affairs of the Prince of Nankang's mansion were to leak out from me, and something were to happen to my sister and the young prince, I would have made a grave mistake.

Li Fu's gaze sharpened, and a slight thought crossed his mind.

Although this Fan Taisui is a spoiled brat who bullies others and commits all sorts of evil deeds, he is actually quite clear-headed about some things.

He knew that the root of his tyrannical and unbridled behavior lay with the Prince of Nankang's residence, therefore, nothing could be allowed to happen to the Prince of Nankang's residence.

Moreover, he does seem to have genuine affection for his sister and nephew.

If I didn't possess the Soul Transfer Technique, I probably wouldn't have been able to ask this question so easily.

Li Fu pressed on, "What else do you know? What's the name of the person the Prince of Nankang was looking for? What does he look like?"

Why look for him?

A struggle flickered across Fan Taisui's face again, but it quickly subsided, and he shook his head blankly.

"I don't know—my sister didn't tell me, and I didn't dare to ask any more questions."

All I knew was that this matter was very important, so important that even my sister, who doted on me so much, wouldn't say a word about it.

The rest—I really don't know.

Li Fu frowned.

The Prince of Nankang was indeed secretly sending people to search for someone, and this person was actually related to the life and fortune of the entire Prince's mansion.

Whose whereabouts could make the Prince of Nankang, a descendant of the founding emperor, so anxious?

As one of the few surviving descendants of Emperor Taizu of Zhao, the Prince of Nankang held a special status.

The court has been protecting him to show the world that the current emperor has not persecuted the lineage of Emperor Taizu, nor does he intend to exterminate them.

Logically speaking, someone of the status of the Prince of Nankang should be the safest, so how could he be in danger of losing his life and property?

Was that person actually Uncle Wu?

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